EHG4865 - Trial Trenching - Windhill, Muir of Ord

As part of a condition on a planning application, an archaeological evaluation was carried out across two fields in the area south of ‘The Cairns’, Great North Road, Muir of Ord – an area known as Windhill. Given the rich prehistoric landscape that surrounds the Muir of Ord area, the presence of a standing stone within the development area itself, and crop mark indications on aerial photographs of Windhill, it was deemed necessary to carry out an archaeological evaluation of the development site. A programme of trial trenching was undertaken across two of the three fields (Areas A and B), revealing significant monumental archaeological remains that are potentially from multiple time periods. The north field (Area A) contained impressive parallel rows of large post-holes, one of which may have contained a standing stone. This was located in the north centre of Area A, where there was extensive evidence for widespread vegetation burning and small groups of further archaeological features, including large pits and ditches. In the northwest corner of the development area, the remains of a large ditch-defined enclosure were found to have been bisected by the railway line. This ditch contained fragments of prehistoric, probably Bronze Age, ceramics fragments, flint flakes and small pieces of cremated bone. The middle field (Area B) contained a single pit alignment running ENE-WSW across the east centre of the development site. The pits, which may have been post-holes may be related to the standing stone located in the southeast corner of the development area. The remains of a linear ditch and bank were identified running NW-SE across the development area, continuing at a tangent into Area B where it appears to terminate. <1>